If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

may be dumb? what do bees eat in summer?

Field bees as they are out foraging,do they eat nectar or pollen? or can they even eat raw pollen? or do they grab a quick honey smack while in the hive?
And also when we feed syrup do they eat it as it is or turn it all to honey first?........ just wondering!

Re: may be dumb? what do bees eat in summer?

Bees (all foraging ones) calculate their energy use and consume stores before leaving based on that. It's why sometimes you see some falling short, they literally run out of gas. When looking at flight, it's not that insects get tired and have to rest as they don't build up lactic like we do, they literally run out of energy and have to stop. I imagine they could use nectar as a source in the field before making the final flight home.

Re: may be dumb? what do bees eat in summer?

I read somewhere that bees have a "valve" of sorts that allows them to choose to consume nectar that they would otherwise transport back to the hive.

Here is one source:

The honey crop (also called the honey stomach) is where the worker bee stores collected nectar for the trip back to the hive without digesting it. A muscular valve called the proventriculus can be closed, keeping the nectar from passing into the stomach. The crop is expandable, allowing the bee to carry a larger load. Back in the hive, the contents of the crop can be ejected back through the mouth for storage in a honey cell or to feed other bees by trophallaxis.

Re: may be dumb? what do bees eat in summer?

With two stomachs, a bypass valve sounds about right. Bees can't convert sugar into honey, but can use it for food (energy). Nectar is the only source that can be converted into honey. Pollen is converted into a protein source to feed the young emerging bees.

Re: may be dumb? what do bees eat in summer?

What about the nurse bees then, who stay in the hive? Do they eat the honey stores in the hive? Seems like a large hive would be constantly struggling between feeding its members and storing honey for winter.

Re: may be dumb? what do bees eat in summer?

IBEE Solutions offers integrated enterprise solutions for the web, mobile, social media and transmedia using the latest and emerging technologies. Our wide gamut of integrated services and solutions enable your business to reap maximum benefits from the web, mobile, social media and transmedia. Our in-depth technical expertise and robust development processes ensure that the solutions are secure, scalable, and high-performing.

Re: may be dumb? what do bees eat in summer?

You know, I hadn't really thought about it before. So this may help answer a question I was thinking about earlier this summer: Do foraging bees return to the hive without a full payload? They will at the end of the day, but I figured any forager returning mid-day must have no more capacity for foraging. However, it sounds like they would return regardless of payload if they've used up their estimated foraging energy supply. Either that or they may be able to tap in to the nectar supply that they've gathered via their proventriculus. Interesting!